One of TOWIE’s longest-running relationships is the rollercoaster romance between Amber Turner and Dan Edgar, with Amber qcatching Dan’s eye when she joined the cast as Megan McKenna’s BFF in 2017.
After a few years of being on then off then on again, and a love triangle with oChloe Sims, Amber and Dan are finally settled down after they moved in together and welcomed a new addition to the family in the shape of pooch Oliver.
However, while fans are well-versed in the ups and downs of Amber’s relationship with Dan, it appears that she was linked another TOWIE star before appearing on the show: Dan’s close pal Joey Essex.
Pictures of a pre-fame Amber leaving London nightclub Mahiki hand-in-hand with Joey, which were originally taken in 2012, resurfaced online last year and they’ve left us shook to our very core.
Amber and Joey were also snapped chatting to each other inside the hotspot before making their way to the exit together and eventually speeding off in a black cab. Together.
Amber was roughly 18 years old at the time, while Joey would have been around 21.
Although it’s not known whether Amber and Joey kept in contact after their night out, the pictures were taken while Joey was in the middle of an on / off relationship with Samantha Faiers.
Sam had dumped Joey just a few months prior but they were later spotted kissing on a date, leading fans to speculate they had reunited.
The pictures of Joey and Amber even got a mention on TOWIE as Sam fumed to sister Billie about him “taking another girl home”.
At the time, Sam told Billie, “I’ve woken up this morning to find out Joey went home last night with another girl. Everyone saw it. He was with her all night.
“He went home with her, he walked out the club holding her hand, they got a cab, just two of them, and went home."
She added, “He knows full well he's done wrong,” to which Billie replied, “He's let himself down."
However, Joey later insisted, “The girl last night means nothing to me,” and although he and Sam split at the time, they later reconciled and even got engaged before splitting for good in 2014.
CHECK OUT 11 jaw-dropping TOWIE couples you completely forgot existed
11 TOWIE couples you completely forgot about - slider
1 of 11Mark Wright and Sam Faiers
Mark and Sam's on/off relationship goes all the way back to when she was 16 and they met on MySpace (aw, those were the days). They briefly dated during their time on TOWIE but were never able to give things a proper go before he quit the show in 2011.
2 of 11Kirk Norcross and Amy Childs
Kirk and Amy's flirtationship was one of the main storylines during the first season of TOWIE and they eventually briefly dated before splitting in 2011. In a 2013 appearance on This Morning, Kirk admitted, "I will still love Amy until the day I die - she is literally like the girl version of me. When it didn't work out, it broke my heart really... and it wasn't her fault, it was both of our fault."
3 of 11Gemma Collins and Charlie King
Gemma and Charlie briefly dated in 2012 but split after she grew concerned about his friendship with Bobby Norris. Two years later, Charlie came out as gay during an appearance on This Morning. He's still friends with Gemma and even admitted in 2017 that he would consider being the GC's sperm donor if she asked.What a turn of events that would be.
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4 of 11Lauren Goodger and Tom Pearce
Remember the days when Joey Essex's BFF Tom Pearce romanced basically every woman within a 10 mile radius of Brentwood? Lauren Goodger became one his many conquests following her split from Mark Wright but they hit the rocks when she caught wind of him bragging about their rendezvous.
5 of 11Mario Falcone and Chloe Sims
It's fair to say Chloe Sims has been unlucky in love over the years but things looked up for her when she began dating close pal Mario. Things moved quick for the pair and she even admitted she loved him - causing friction with BFF Lauren Pope who'd previously dated Mario - but he wasn't ready to settle down and called things off.
6 of 11Harry Derbidge and Bobby Norris
After three years away from the TOWIE scene, OG cast member Harry Derbidge returned as Bobby Norris' boyfriend (in some very skimpy swimwear, nonetheless) during the cast's annual jaunt to Marbs.Their relationship ended in tears though when Harry confessed to sleeping with his ex while on holiday in Tenerife.
7 of 11Dan Osborne and Lucy Mecklenburgh
They've now found love with soap star other halves Jacqueline Jossa and Ryan Thomas but before that, Dan Osborne and Lucy Mecklenburgh were an item.They began dating in 2013 but called it quits amid claims he knew about his ex Megan Tomlin being pregnant before getting with Lucy.
8 of 11Charlie Sims and Ferne McCann
Ferne McCann's on/off relationship with Chloe Sims' brother Charlie provided LOTS of dramz on TOWIE over the years, with rumours she cheated on him cropping up more than once.Eventually Charlie publicly quit the show AND dumped Ferne at the same time in a series of tweets in 2014. Awks...
9 of 11Dan Edgar and Kate Wright
Before she wed footballer Rio and became Mrs Ferdinand, Kate Wright joined TOWIE as the ex of Dan Edgar, who reportedly dumped her to star in the show.She took him back after his romances with Lauren Pope and Jess Wright but it wasn't to be and they eventually split for good.
10 of 11Shelby Tribble and Tom McDonnell
Tom McDonnell joined TOWIE alongside a whole host of newbies including Harry Lee and Chloe Brockett in 2019 and soon caught the eye of Shelby Tribble following her split from Sam Mucklow.Sam soon came back on the scene though and Shelby dumped Tom to reunite with her ex. Sam and Shelby later quit the show together and are now expecting their first child.
11 of 11James Argent and Jasmin Walia
In between his long-running relationships with Lydia Bright and Gemma Collins, James Argent was set up on a blind date with Jasmin Walia and they appeared to hit it off. Things seemed to move too quickly for his liking though, causing him to run from her house after being introduced to her parents. Oh, Arg...